


Alternate Universe

by theinsandoutsofcastiel



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-17 13:46:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8146253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinsandoutsofcastiel/pseuds/theinsandoutsofcastiel
Summary: The reader is happy in what she thinks is her life. She has her dream job, friends she loves and a husband she would die for; but that world is ripped apart when she’s told it isn’t real. Her real life lies in a different universe and this life she’s living is all a creation of her own imagination.





	

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you to @morningstar331 for giving me your wonderful idea and all your notes for this fic! Second, for the sake of making the story more readable, I decided to always call John Barrowman by his last name where as John Simm is always John. Also, since I’m not really comfortable writing about the actual actors, and without giving too much away, I made it so this is a pocket universe that’s been shaped by the reader’s memories.

Warnings: Reader injury, a little bit of angst, AU, language, no smut

Fic:

You walk hurriedly down the streets of London, turning up the collar of your jacket to protect you from the wind as you head towards set. Today is the last day of filming of the last episode that David and John would have together; it would be the last time you were all on set together. It was bittersweet. You’d finally get to see the culmination of the story lines their characters had been on, but at the same time, this was the end. You guessed “The End of Time” was an apt name.

Your phone begins to ring. Pulling it from your pocket, you see John’s name flashing across the screen. “Hello Love,” you answer, John’s voice instantly greeting you, “What’s wrong?” You could tell he was ready to complain about something.

“Maybe you shouldn’t come to set today Love,” your husband tells you.

“Why not?” you ask.

“I look like a madman,” he tells you.

“Well, to be fair, you do play a madman,” you tease.

“Y/N, I’m dressed in rags,” he continues, “Not to mention my hair. It’s white. It looks bloody awful.”

“It can’t be that bad,” you giggle, “Besides, your hair’s been like that for a while now, I’ve gotten used to it. I actually think it’s kinda cute. Anyway, if I don’t see it now, I’ll only see it later.” You can hear him grumbling as David practices his lines in the background, repeating ‘I don’t want to go’ over and over again in different tones. You knew that was David speaking and not the Doctor. He loved playing the part more than anyone ever could and he hated leaving. “I’m not missing this for the world,” you tell John, “I’m on my way.”

“Fine,” John groans, “See you soon Love.” You tell him goodbye before hanging up and slipping your phone back into your pocket. As you continue walking down the street, you can’t help but notice the police box sitting on the street corner. You shake your head and laugh gently, amazed by how popular the show had become since its revival.

A sudden hand on your arm makes you jump. “David?” you ask, turning to see him dressed in costume rather than in his usual jeans and shirt, “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on set … I just heard your voice over the phone. Is John with you?”

“My name isn’t David,” he tells you, “Please you need to listen. You’re in danger and you need to come with me, now.” This had to be some sort of joke. The two of them were always teaming up on you when it came to practical jokes and they loved using their characters to mess with everyone. To most, their jokes had gotten old quickly, but you still found them amusing, especially when they acted like complete fools.

“Alright Doctor,” you answer, playing along, “What’s going on?

“We need to leave,” he tells you, leading you towards the fake TARDIS, “This universe is falling in on itself and I need to get you back where you belong.”

“You can stop with the jokes now, David. We need to get you and John to the set,” you say, getting cross. As you reach the police box your eyes go wide, realizing that it wasn’t a flimsy, fake TARDIS. It wasn’t a prop either, not one that you’d ever seen. “David, where did you get this?” you ask, “It’s beautiful.”

“I stole it,” he answers, “And I told you, my name isn’t David.” Your shock only increases as David unlocks the door and ushers you inside.

“T-this is the TARDIS,” you whisper, “The TARDIS.”

“Yes, yes,” the Doctor mumbles, “It’s bigger on the inside and all that. Now it’s time to leave.” It was exactly the way it looked on set, only everything was so real.

“Leave?” you question, “But I can’t. My life is here, my husband is here.” The floor beneath you begins to tilt and shake as the Doctor pulls levers and pushes buttons.

“This isn’t your life,” the Doctor tells you as he runs frantically around the controls, “This is a pocket universe that you crash landed in and when you went into hiding, your fake life took on a resemblance of your real life in a way that the new human version of you could understand.”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” you shout, “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I’ve had it. You’re going to stop this right fucking now and we’re going to set. This isn’t funny anymore.”

“Funny?” the Doctor asks, “You’re right, this isn’t funny. This universe is collapsing in on itself and if I don’t get you out of here, you’ll die with it. It’s a lucky happenstance I even got here in the first place.”

“Take me back,” you demand stubbornly.

“No,” the Doctor says, “You’re never going back. Now sit down and open that locket around your neck. Then you’ll understand.”

With tears in your eyes, you do part of what the Doctor says, taking a seat near the consol. You trace the edges of the heart shaped locket dangling from a chain around your neck, refusing to believe that any of this was really happening. This was a joke, it had to be. It was a cruel joke and nothing more.

***Two Years Ago***

You’d been in love with Doctor Who ever since you were a little girl. Ever since your mum had showed you the tapes of the original show, you’d loved the adventure and the history behind it, not to mention the heart that went into the story. In a way, the show shaped you as a person. It made you think about how short life is and how it should be lived to the fullest, helping others along the way.

When you heard that the show was being revived in 2005, you jumped at the chance to be a part of it and you’d managed to land your dream job. You’d been hired as a graphic designer, so you got to use your artistic abilities to bring the show to life. Anything that utilized green screen was part of your domain, even the TARDIS.

Since the beginning of the show, you’d met many of the actors from Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper to all the actors who worked only on one episode. When you’d met John Barrowman, the two of you had instantly become best friends. Some of the people you worked with were friends, others were family. Barrowman was definitely part of the second group, and after getting to know David Tennant, so was he. You’d worked with David for a while now and you’d grown to love him like a brother. The man was a complete and total goof ball, which could be annoying at times, but over all you loved working with him. He’d become very fond of you as well, as close to you as he was with Billie.

Filming hadn’t yet started for the day so as usual, you decided to hang out with the boys. John Barrowman would be returning for this episode and you were very excited. You walk towards the warehouse and as soon as you enter, you feel yourself being lifted off the floor. An ‘oof’ sound escapes your lips and you begin to giggle as your captor throws you over his shoulder. “Barrowman, you put me down right now!” you half laugh, half yell as the man who played the dashing American Captain Jack Harkness carries you towards the meeting room.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages Sweetheart,” Barrowman says, placing you on your feet. David stands from where he sits as you and Barrowman enter the room

“It’s been too long,” you say, giving him a hug. You hadn’t worked with him since they’d filmed the episode ‘The Parting of Ways’ and you missed him like crazy.

“So, what are we all doing here?” Barrowman asks.

“What do you mean?” you question in return.

“We were both called here for something important,” David says with a smile as he throws his arm over Barrowman’s shoulder.

“Why?” you question. Both men shrug.

“Haven’t the foggiest,” David answers.

A while passes before an intern enters the room, carrying four sealed manila envelopes. She hands each of you an envelope before hesitantly deciding to keep the fourth with her and mumbling ‘he’s late.’ Before leaving, she tells the three of you to have fun and you all eagerly tear into the envelopes, pulling out the scripts inside.

While the boys are reading to learn their lines, you’re making notes. You scribble down notes regarding what sort of visual details you should add and where. “I can’t believe it!” you say as you get to the big twist. The boys see it not long after you.

“Wow,” Barrowman says, “I didn’t think I’d be here when it happened.” David snorts.

“I know, I can’t believe we’re actually gonna do this,” David says, “I can’t believe they’re bringing him back.”

“Bringing the Master back is going to mess with everything,” you say, tossing your script to the table, “Everything’s screwed.”

“Oh, calm down Honey,” Barrowman says, shaking his head with a big smile on his face, “You take your job wayyy too seriously.”

“No I don’t,” you protest, picking your script back up and flipping through it as you lean back in your chair, “Oh my gosh, he’s gonna tear a hole in the fabric of time!” You look wide eyed at the script.

“Oh God, David, should we run before she goes all nerdy on us?” Barrowman asks.

“No,” David whispers, “If we stay perfectly still, she’ll forget about us as she runs off ranting.

“Oh shut up, both of you,” you hiss.

“Um, excuse me,” someone asks as you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn to see a blonde haired, dark eyed man standing behind you, flashing you a blinding smile. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find … David Tennant?” he asks, looking down at the packet of papers in his hand.

“Over here,” David says, raising his hand like an excited five year old ready to answer a teacher’s question.

“Oh, hello, I’m John Simm,” he says, moving to shake David’s hand, “Sorry I’m late, my flight was delayed.” He looked embarrassed.

“No worries mate,” David says, “We’ll bring you up to speed. Have a seat.” John moves to take the nearest seat, which puts him right next to you. Your eyes never leave him.

“Oh no,” Barrowman says, catching your attention. You come out of your trance to look up at him, finding his eyes darting back and forth between you and John.

“What?” you ask, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Nothing,” he says innocently, though he grinned like he knew a secret.

Later that day, you return to your lab to work on the graphics you’d be using for the episode. You’d spent time sketching before bringing the images to life so your desk was littered with papers. Filming started in about half an hour so you were rushing to finish what you could before you’d be needed on set.

You freeze as you hear a knock on your door. Turning, you find John standing in the doorway, dressed in costume with a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry to interrupt,” he says, “They told me I needed to come see you for the bit where they do the regeneration scene. Something about, um, green dots?”

“You’ve come to the right place,” you tell him with a smile, “Take a seat there and I’ll be back in just a tick.” You gesture to an empty chair before heading off to find your booklet of green stickers. When you return, you find him looking at some of the concept art you’d sketched.

“Did you draw these?” he asks, looking up quickly as you pull a chair to sit in front of him.

“I did,” you answer.

“They’re beautiful,” he tells you, “You’re a true artist.”

“Oh, thanks,” you say, a blush rising to your cheeks, “Sit still please, I want to get this right the first time.” You give him a smile as you begin placing the dots across his face in perfect lines. He sits perfectly still for you, making your job that much easier. Being so focused on your work, you almost didn’t notice him staring at you in awe. “There, all done,” you tell him as you place the final dot, “Just try to make sure none of them come off or else the graphics won’t work.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says, giving you a smile before standing from his chair. You grab your notepad before heading out, John by your side. He looked ridiculous with those green dots all over his face, but it only made talking to him easier.

It was about halfway through the day and you were already exhausted. You decide to hang out with the boys as they get their makeup redone for the next scene. Barrowman walks in just as you’re finalizing your notes. You notice the frown on his face as he takes a seat.

“Everything alright?” David asks Barrowman.

“I’m worried about Y/N,” he says quietly, “Sometimes I think she lives in her office or on set maybe.”

“Is she the only graphic artist?” John asks the other two.

“I’m right here you know?” you mumble as your pencil scratches at the paper. They seem to ignore your comment.

“No, but she might as well be,” David says, “She goes above and beyond at bringing the show to life. Hell, on top of doing her job, she goes out of her way to make sure that everyone’s happy or in a good mood. She’s always got a joke or a good prank to lift everyone’s spirits.” You smile at David’s compliments.

“Yeah, I regret not locking my trailer,” Barrowman grumbles.

“It’s your own fault,” David bursts out laughing, “You just had to comment on her shoes and say her legs would look nice in heels.”

“What? I was being a smart-ass,” Barrowman replies.

“Exactly why she got you back.” David laughs. You couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

“What did she do exactly?” John asks. He sounded worried.

“Took all the shoes from his trailer . . .” David answers, “Every last pair, and replaced the all with heels. She left a note behind saying, ‘Thanks for the lovely advice. I bet your legs would look nice in heels too.’” David can’t stop himself from laughing.

“Oh haha,” Barrowman says, crossing his arms, “And for your information, my legs would look amazing in heels.”

“Don’t be like that mate,” David says, “She was just having a little fun, weren’t you Y/N?”

“So much fun,” you tease, “And since you’re back, I might have to find some other fun thing to do.” 

“That sounds ominous,” Barrowman mutters. You chuckle darkly before shutting your notepad and pushing yourself up from your seat.

“I’m gonna go get some tea, anyone want anything?” you ask them.

“No thanks Love, I think we’re all good,” David says, giving you a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine Sweetheart,” Barrowman says, “But I think you need to go lay down before you drop. You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

“I’m fine,” you say as you shake your head.

“Yeah, that’s what you said last time right before you fainted,” Barrowman says, “You work yourself too hard.” He stands from his chair and moves to guide you back to your office so that you can lie down. You would protest, but you knew he was right. As you leave, you can hear John and David talking faintly, their words almost covered by Barrowman’s.

“Are they …” you hear John ask.

“Together? Oh no!” David answers, “Y/N is like a baby sister to us. We love her like family. Plus, she’s not exactly his type, he has a husband.”

“Oh,” John says, “They just seem … close.”

“They are,” David says, “And I’m close with her as well, so if you end up pursuing her just know that if you ever hurt her, we’ll make your life a living Hell. Good luck to you though, she doesn’t typically like the ones who play the bad guys.”

“I … um …” you hear John falter. The rest of the conversation is cut off as you walk further down the hall.

When you reach your office, Barrowman guides you to the sofa and helps you to lie down. “Take it easy for a little while, yeah?” he asks. He makes sure you’re comfortable before turning off the lights. As if, you still had work to do.

“I’m up!” you blurt as you feel someone laying a jacket across your shoulders. You weren’t sure when you had fallen asleep, but you found yourself at your desk, your computer playing a save screen.

“Clearly you’re not, Dear,” John says gently.

“I was just resting my eyes,” you lie, rubbing the sleep from them.

“Come on,” John says as he grabs your purse and jacket, “Tell me where you live and I’ll take you home.” You wobble as he guides you to your feet.

“I’m fine,” you protest weakly, “I just need to finish a few things and then I’ll go home.” John leads you down the stairs, wrapping his arm around your waist to keep you steady. Passing by Barrowman, you notice his eyebrow raised at you. “Really, I’m f -” you slur as your eyes fall shut and your body slumps.

You open your eyes only to shut them tightly, your eyes hurting from the sun lighting your face. The last thing you remembered was John walking you from your office. You weren’t sure how you’d gotten to bed. Shaking the thought from your mind, you throw the covers from you and head towards your bathroom, starting the shower up. You let the warm water wake you up before getting out of the shower. Wrapping your towel around you, you head to your closet and pick out a black turtleneck sweater, skinny jeans and a pair of heeled boots.

After brushing out your hair, doing your makeup, and putting on your earrings and the heart shaped locket you always wore, you pull on your jacket. You grab your purse from the table beside your front door and sling it over your shoulder. Just as you’re getting ready to leave, you hear a knock on the door. You peek out to see John standing there with two cups of coffee. A sigh escapes your lips before you open the door.

“Good morning,” John says with a smile, “I brought you some coffee.”

“I see that,” you say irritated, “Thanks but no thanks.” You lock your door behind you before stalking off.

“What’s wrong?” John asks, following after you, “Is it the coffee? Should I have brought tea?”

“I’m not some sort of damsel in distress,” you tell him angrily.

“I didn’t think you were,” John says.

“Then don’t treat me like one,” you respond.

John follows you around all day, trying to get back into your good graces. David and Barrowman couldn’t get enough. They laughed their asses off at the way the new Master was following you around like a lost puppy. He spent much of his time trying to get you to talk to him, but you flat out ignored him. You barely knew him, so what gave him the right to tell you what you needed to do, let alone to drive you home and put you in bed.

Leaning against the wall, you watch as a makeup artist helps David into the mask that will make him look like an old man. You can’t stop yourself from giggling as they fix the white hairs on the top of the mask.

“Shut it,” David growls.

“Whatever you say Granddad,” you giggle. You can hear him grumble under his breath. Barrowman walks in and takes one look at David before doubling over and laughing his ass off. He grabs your shoulder for support.

“Laugh it up,” David growls.

“Oh, trust me Gramps, we are,” Barrowman says, gasping for breath.

“And … we’re done,” the makeup artist says, smiling widely as she turns David around and proudly displays her work.

“That’s amazing,” you compliment her. She thanks you for the compliment and laughs as David walks grumpily from the room.

“Are you two done?” he asks as you follow him down the hall.

“Ok, ok, I’m … I’m done,” you say breathlessly before grabbing Barrowman’s arm and laughing even louder. “Ok, really David, they did amazing and you look great. Now we have a bunch of scenes to do and I have the CG art to do to turn you from your regular self to your … older self … It’s nothing but a green screen, so this is the last time you’ll have to wear the old man mask,” you tell him with a smile.

“Good,” David sighs in relief.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” you laugh lightly.

“It only takes forever to get this thing on,” he says, pointing to his face.

“It always takes you forever to put your face on,” Barrowman teases, “What’s the difference?” He earns a growl from David and a laugh from you. When you get to set, you find everyone bustling around, John fidgeted where he stood, his fidgeting stopping when he spots you. You roll your eyes as you take your spot with the other production crew.

“Alright everyone! Quiet on the set!” the director yells as the bell rings loudly overhead, signaling the shooting in process. As the actors get into position and begin shooting, you take notes on the effects you’ll add later.

David points his screwdriver at John where he stands at the top of the stairs. John’s hands are up in the air in surrender. The scene plays out as you mentally add all sorts of details and sketch them out. David keeps trying the screwdriver, but it’s useless.

“Isomorphic controls,” John says as he leans over and snatches the screwdriver away, pretending to back hand David hard, which sent David to the ground. “Which means they only work for me,” John continues, “Like this.” He turns to fire it at the wall and the crew creates sparks from the spot on the wall and for some reason there’s a loud creaking sound. “Say sorry!” he growls, his voice threatening.

Something moves up above John’s head and it catches your eye, causing you to look up and realize that one of the steel rods holding up a large beam had come loose. Before you could even think about it you’re on your feet, your body slamming into John’s as you push him out of the way. The two of you fall to the ground and a loud bang fills the room as the beam hits the ground beside you. As soon as everyone realizes what’s just happened, they jump into action.

John lays flat on his back with you above him. “You … you saved my life,” he whispers, looking up at you as if you were his guardian angel, “Thank you.”

“I couldn’t let you die before you finished filming,” you answer, panting, “You make a damn good Master.”

“Y/N,” John says in a worried voice, “You look pale.” He moves his hand from your back and his eyes go wide as he examines it. “Oh God,” he yells, “Someone help! She’s bleeding!”

“Somebody call an ambulance!” David shouts as he skids across the floor towards you and John.

“Stay with me Y/N,” John says, caressing your cheek as he tries to keep you calm. You were losing consciousness. The last thing you heard was John and David telling you that everything would be alright, and then the world went black.

Beep ….. Beep ….. Beep ….. Beep …..

The annoying sound seemed to ring in your ears, waking you from a deep sleep. You felt like you’d been hit by a truck and your back was on fire. You lie on your side and as you turn your head, you see John asleep in the chair next to your bed. Turning over, you try to sit up, only to scream in pain. You couldn’t move without feeling some sort of pain in some part of your body.

“Y/N, you have to stay still,” John says as he quickly moves around your bed and kneels beside you.

“W-what happened?” you ask, your voice cracking, “John, why am I in the hospital?”

“You saved my life,” he whispers, taking your hand in his and squeezing it gently, “A metal beam fell from the ceiling. You pushed me out of the way and it caught you instead. If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way, I would’ve died; you risked your life … for me.” He was getting choked up. “There was so much blood,” he continues, “And you wouldn’t stay awake … we almost lost you Y/N. You have over a hundred stitches in your back right now. The doctor told me to keep you on your side.”

“Are you ok?” you ask, squeezing his hand back.

“Me?” he laughs, “Yeah, I’m fine, because of you. How can I ever repay you?”

“Say thanks,” you suggest, “You don’t owe me anything.”

“I owe you my life,” he says.

“That’s a little dramatic,” you tell him, groaning as you shift on the bed.

“No it’s not,” he protests, “I owe you everything and I will spend the rest of my life repaying you.”

He’d done just that. When he wasn’t filming, he spent his time by your side. He helped you through your whole recovery and even after you were better, he was reluctant to leave your side. It wasn’t long before you’d fallen in love with him.

After that, it wasn’t long before he proposed. You’d been walking across set with him one day when he’d stopped you right beside the TARDIS and dropped down to one knee. You were so surprised you couldn’t keep yourself from squealing and answering with ‘Yes!’ before he could even finish his question. Of course David and Barrowman had been there, David paying up on a bet they’d apparently had about your relationship.

They had been at your wedding. Your friends and family had all been there. It was the wedding of your dreams …

***Now***

How could it not be real? There was no way this was some sort of pocket universe where your life was nothing but a mirage. Everything felt so real, the love you felt was real, the friendships you had were real.

“I can’t leave,” you tell the Doctor, “Take me back right now.”

“I told you, there’s nothing to go back to,” the Doctor says, “That universe you were living in is unstable, ready to fall in on itself. Even if I wanted to take you back, I don’t know if I could even get there.”

“I don’t want to leave him,” you whisper, tears beginning to well in your eyes.

“You’re not leaving anyone,” the Doctor tells you, “Those people were all creations that the universe you were in created to remind you who you really are.”

“That can’t be true,” you say, tears streaming down your face, “I love them.”

“Open the locket,” the Doctor tells you. You look down at the locket that resting in the palm of your hand. Your mother had given you when you were little. She knew how much you loved Doctor Who so the gold face was etched with little Gallifreyan symbols. You’d never opened it, you weren’t sure why you never had, but it had never really crossed your mind. “Y/N, be sensible,” the Doctor says. He stalks towards you and snatches the locket from you, the golden chain snapping around your neck.

“What are you -” you begin to protest, but you stop in your tracks as he opens the locket. A golden light swirls out from the locket and engulfs you, your world changing.


End file.
